CHAPTER 614: UNRAVELING THE THREADS

Selina couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she kept feeling that the Brooks Family, the Hill Family, and Hannah were all connected.

...

That evening, Selina was reading when Logan noticed the furrow in her brow. He leaned down slightly and asked softly, "What’s on your mind?"

Selina set the book aside, resting her chin on one hand. "I’ve been thinking about the drug the Brooks Family was researching back then."

Logan’s gaze flickered, and he gave a slight shake of his head. "There’s probably no way to uncover it now."

"Mm. That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking."

Selina laid out her reasoning. "My father’s death was so sudden... and my grandparents were already elderly. After my father passed, they both fell ill quickly. Realistically, they wouldn’t have had the time or energy to clear out an entire lab. But after they died, there wasn’t a single trace of research reports left in the lab—not one."

Conducting a scientific experiment, developing a new drug—it requires manpower, funding, equipment, facilities, and countless supporting papers.

And yet nothing remained. It was as if the research project had appeared out of thin air, only to vanish into thin air once the Brooks Family was gone.

Would it really leave no trace at all?

Selina had only one thought.

"What if... what they were working on wasn’t actually a drug at all?"

But even then, what did that have to do with Hannah?

Selina felt like she was stuck in a mental loop she couldn’t break free from.

"Perhaps." Logan suddenly said, "What if Hannah went after your father purely for his research?"

Selina blinked in surprise. And in that instant, like a bolt of lightning, a thought both impossible and terrifyingly plausible shot through her mind.

The Brooks Family was a family of scientists, but research burned through money. Why had the Brooks Family never seemed strapped for funds? Because the Hill Family was always their staunchest supporter, pouring in resources with no limits, no matter what the Brooks Family wanted to pursue.

Then Victoria of the Hill Family was engaged to Curtis of the Brooks Family.

The public might not have known this, but the Hill Family’s rivals certainly did.

And Hannah... she had once been in contact with a "wealthy family’s butler." Could it be that this butler gave Hannah the order to get close to the Hill Family, to become a "daughter" of the Hills?

Not for wealth. Not for status.

But to steal the Brooks Family’s research.

If that were true, everything connected.

Why a twelve-year-old girl had access to a drug that could warp someone’s mind. Why Hannah kept pushing Matt to seize control. Why Hannah always managed to walk away unscathed. What the real purpose behind her schemes was.

But... why? Why would Hannah do this?

Selina narrowed her eyes and shared her theory with Logan.

He wasn’t surprised. "That’s why this can’t be made public. If your suspicion is correct, Selina, then the people behind Hannah are ruthless enough to destroy both the Hill Family and the Brooks Family to achieve their goals."

"If you’re going to dig deeper, you have to tread carefully."

Selina knew that much.

She suddenly stood. "The Brooks Family home and lab are still around, right? I want to take a look."

Logan replied, "The lab was state-managed and has already been reassigned to another team. But the Brooks family house is still there, carefully maintained. If you want to see it, we can go now."

Selina told Jeff her plan, and Jeff had Aaron personally accompany her and unlock the door.

The Brooks Family residence wasn’t as lavish as the Hill estates. It was a simple two-story house with a small courtyard—plain, even humble.

Selina closed her eyes, breathing in the gentle breeze, the scent of earth lingering at the tip of her nose.

In the Brooks Family courtyard stood a tall, sprawling orange tree.

Looking at it all, she didn’t know why, but her eyes suddenly grew misty.

Aaron walked across the yard and unlocked the main house door. "After the Brooks Family passed, the keys to this house were kept by the Hill Family. So—what made you think of coming here?"

Selina shared her suspicions.

Aaron froze for three seconds, then his expression sharpened.

It was possible—more than possible!

He realized just how big a storm this would stir if true, and didn’t dare brush it off. "Alright, let’s search the Brooks estate from top to bottom. Your father was brilliant—he might have left something behind as evidence!"

"But..." He hesitated. "Don’t get your hopes too high. The keys were in Matt’s hands for years. My father only got them back from him recently. In all those years, Matt came and went countless times. If there was anything, he likely already took it."

Selina didn’t care. For some reason, she had a gut feeling.

Her father must have hidden something here. Maybe he realized something before the accident and deliberately entrusted the house to the Hill Family.

Not to Matt—but to Victoria or Jeff.

Because he knew, one day, the Hill Family would return to its rightful heirs.

As for why he wasn’t worried Matt would find it first?

Selina believed her father’s confidence had its reasons.

She wandered through the house, noticing signs of damage and repair everywhere.

Aaron explained, "That’s why I said—even if something was left behind, it’s probably long gone. Matt had this place torn apart."

Selina pressed her lips together.

It was true. The place had been gutted.

Floorboards pried open, every possible hiding spot dug up—even a basement was uncovered.

That basement, once used by the Brooks Family to store their secrets, had already been ransacked.

The house had no privacy left; the walls stripped, the ceilings riddled with holes. The only thing missing was tearing it down completely.

Selina thought for a moment and asked, "Would this house ever be demolished or relocated?"

Aaron blinked, then chuckled, shaking his head. "Of course not. This is the Brooks Family’s home. Why would it be torn down? They were a family of scientists. This house should be preserved, a place for future generations to remember them."

"I see..." Selina fell into thought.

If her father really hid something here, how could he have done it so Matt would never find it, so no one would?

Her father must have known the house would eventually fall into Matt’s hands. He must have known Matt would tear it apart. But still...

Her eyes suddenly sharpened, and she instinctively glanced toward the gate.

Aaron frowned. "Selina, what is it? You think something’s buried underground? It’s no use. Even that tree, the entire yard—Matt had them dig it all up."

"I know."

Selina had thought the same thing at first—that her father might have hidden something beneath the tree. But the more she considered it, the less likely it seemed.

Her gaze shifted instead to the courtyard wall.

Matt had once said... this courtyard would always be preserved, never touched.

Even if the city changed and grew around it, the yard itself would remain untouched.

And if the yard stayed intact, so would the walls.

Selina stepped up to the wall and tapped it lightly, then said slowly, "I suspect something is hidden beneath the courtyard wall."

Beneath the wall?! Aaron was stunned.

But... why not?

Matt had ripped apart the house and yard in secret. Once the gate was shut, no one outside would ever know.

But if Matt had started tearing down the courtyard wall, everyone would have seen.

His claim to the property was shaky enough. If he made a public spectacle of digging through the walls of Curtis Brooks’s house, people would wonder what he was looking for.

He couldn’t risk that kind of suspicion.

Which meant...

Maybe, just maybe, the secret really was buried beneath the wall.